Essie Summer 2016 - Viva Antigua Collection

I wanted to say first that I soooooo appreciated all of your comments on my last post! It was nice to know that I wasn't alone in my feelings about upcoming collections, but even more than that, it was nice to be told I don't need to buy ALLLLLL the Essie collections just to review. It may sound silly but I had been putting the pressure on myself to do that, so that my blog is relevant. So it was discouraging to see so many collections I have no interest in buying and then saying to myself "so....does that mean I have to buy them anyways?" But you guys are the best! You said just buy what I like and review what I like. It's so simple, but YES! I needed to hear that! That's how I started this blog so I'm going back to my roots :).

If I had listened to that advice, I wouldn't have bought this entire Summer 2016. I saw too many dupes and similar polishes to past Essie's. Did my feelings change once I got these guys on my nails? Let's check it out!

Coconut Cove

This very slightly opaque off-white has a decent formula for a white. On the first coat is was great, not thick or goopy, just easy to use and apply. On the second coat, it became a little more troublesome to apply. It didn't want to go on completely smooth nor completely opaque. It doesn't self-level 100% on it's own, but the ridging was mild and is totally fixed by a coat of top coat (which I always use anyways. I didn't for the pictures though, so you could see what I mean). It was opaque in 2-3 coats. So...not fantastic but not terrible either. Just ok.

Berried Treasure

These bright pinky reds are the kind I always fall for! It's beautiful but I never would have picked this up because I have so many like it, but I wanted to show you comparisons (coming soon). It is more on the pink side of things (not red) and seemed much brighter on the nail than in the bottle. Slightly brighter than my pic too, I would say. The formula is really nice. It's smooth and pigmented, self-leveled great and was opaque in 2 coats. A great polish if you don't already have a colour like this.

Hiking Heels

This was a pretty orange-toned red with the same great formula as Berried Treasure. It was super nice to apply and opaque in 2 coats. I feel like I have a bunch of dupes for this colour already (we'll put that to the test when I do the comparison post for this collection), but just like Berried Treasure, if you don't already own a polish like this, this one is great.

Tribal Text-Styles

I liked this polish so much more in person than I did seeing pics online! In some pics I saw, I expected the glitter to be kind of gritty looking or matte, but it isn't at all. The glitter is fine and densely packed but still really easy to apply to the nail. It was opaque in 2 coats. The glitter is so fine and pretty. It's mostly silver, but if I look closely it seems there's subtle green and pink glitters in there too to give it depth. I wish last year's Private Weekend were the white version of this!

Viva Antigua!

This one is also packed with shimmer but it is fine gold shimmer. I'm loving the combination of turquoise and gold. The gold flash is more apparent in the bottle, however the very fine glitter is definitely apparent on the nail! I've complained many times about Essie's invisible shimmer and this is definitely not the case. You can totally see the glitter on your nails and it's super pretty. It's Naughty Nautical kicked up a notch. Easy to apply, great formula and opaque in 2 coats.

Loot the Booty

I hemmed and hawed about ordering this entire collection, because if I am honest, this was the only one I really wanted from the collection. I like it just as much in person. It's so beautiful! It's another one that is loaded with shimmer and the shimmer ACTUALLY shows up on the nail! Just like the others, it has a great formula that is opaque in 2 coats.

Final thoughts on this collection:

This collection has some really beautiful colours and some really great formulas. All are fantastic and easy to apply, with the exception of Coconut Cove (which isn't even difficult, it's just not perfect like the others). The three cremes are good polishes if you don't already have some like them in your collection, but the real standouts for me are the three shimmer polishes. I really liked all three in person and they are way more shimmery and glittery than typical Essie polishes. If I had to pick a favourite, I'd pick Tribal Text-Styles which totally surprises me! I honestly didn't even like swatches of it online, but really loved it on the nail. And it's a colour I can see wearing a lot, even in the Summer. It's not a typical summer colour but all that shimmer makes it wearable for that "summer glow". And while Coconut Cove didn't have the greatest formula in the bunch, it wasn't a bad polish at all and was totally the kind of summer shade I gravitate towards. I love white nails next to bronzed skin! I still don't think it's going to be all that unique next to all my other white polishes, but because it's new and the formula is decent, I can totally see myself reaching for this polish.

In the next few days, I plan on working on a comparison post for you guys. I've got a bunch of polishes in mind already, but if there's something you want to see compared and I have the polish I will include it. Let me know in the comments what you want to see! Also, what are your thoughts on this collection? Any that standout to you?

Kindra

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comments:

Very nice swatches!! I got yesterday Viva Antigua and Hiking Heels and I really liked them! Viva Antigua looks so good under the sunlight! I'm still on the fence for the blue one though.. Which one do you like more Aruba Blue or Loot the Booty.. I was also between Fifth Avenue and Hiking Heels.

Thank you for your review on this collection and your honest feelings about it. I was initially drawn to Viva Antigua! - but then, that turquoise range always draws me in. And that Loot The Booty - very pretty! But really, not sure I will get any of them. There are just too many other polishes coming out that I want!

I very rarely get a full collection. I'm not a blogger and I don't like some colors. I can only imagine the financial aspect of feeling you need to buy the entire collection to blog about it. However, to me, it's actually nice to see reviews of individual polishes, or just a couple. Please don't feel compelled to buy complete collections! Buy and review the polish you want! I am so very grateful for polish bloggers sharing with us. I know there is considerable time, effort and money invested in all the different aspects of nail blogging, and I do appreciate it.

Just got Viva Antigua! and Loot The Booty yesterday, and I'm super excited to wear them! I caved on Loot The Booty even after having recently bought Aruba Blue, the shimmer makes it just different enough to justify it, I think :P (can't wait for some sunshine for it to sparkle under) but you could do a comparison of those two? If you have Aruba Blue that is :)But more importantly what do you think of the new Essie formula/twisted bottle, coming our way? Excited yea or nay? I'll hopefully be in the UK when they are due to be released, so fingers crossed I have way more options there! :)

Thank you so much and honestly don't even worry about purchasing whole collections in the future. I concur with everybody else, just buy what you like and review those for us. It's just as interesting to see your choices for which ones you like as it is to see the swatches themselves. Don't ever worry about having to show us every polish. I'll still be a reader even if you only choose one from each collection from now on!

As for this collection, I really love Coconut Cove the best. Your opinions on it are so interesting because I found the formula to be really great. It's the best white polish formula I've ever owned and the color, oh the color. I love it so much because it's not stark white. It's so much creamier and softer and really does remind me of coconut flesh which conjures up all sorts of nice tropical images for me!

I sampled my friend's Viva Antigua and Loot the Booty and while I found both gorgeous, the fact that I found them both gritty upon removal and hard to take off even with pure acetone was a deal breaker for me. So I only have Coconut Cove and that's enough for me.